xxd0ublezer0 wrote:@skysaw

the way you explained your whole method of reality checks seemed a little eerie. Do you genuinely think you're in reality sometimes but end up actually being in a dream?

Yes, absolutely!!

Cobb is spot on when he talks about how we don't question how strange things are in a dream. You see a six-legged monster chasing you, what do you do? In a dream, you run away... rarely do you stop and think "this can't be real." You simply accept that it is. When you wake up, you realize how silly it was, but by then it is too late.

Your brain continually tries to convince you that your dream is real, and it's a struggle to work against that. One funny aspect of this I and others have experienced is that even when you have a fully lucid dream, it is very difficult to convince any people you are dreaming about that it is a dream. If you mention it to them, they will usually laugh it off or ignore you. I find this fascinating because those people are your subconscious, so you're essentially arguing against yourself.

"A note about the paralyzation [...]"

I'll add my own story here while on the topic. After I "broke the lucidity seal," I began having regular sleep paralysis in the early mornings. For the longest time, I thought I was awake during the paralysis because it was so realistic. I couldn't do my go-to reality checks since I was paralyzed. It finally dawned on me that in most of these occurrences, I was extremely paranoid that someone was breaking into the house. I'd hear noises within the house (I live alone), windows shattering, doors opening, footsteps, voices, etc. Eventually the paralysis would wear off, I'd get out of bed, and I'd wonder if it was maybe a dream since I saw no evidence of a break-in (I couldn't be sure). I'd reason I was paralyzed out of fear, not because I was dreaming. I finally decided that no one's breaking into my house because they would've triggered the alarm. "Paralyzed, and break-in with no alarm" became my newest dream sign. (What a risky dream sign to have as someone could really break in and I'd think I was dreaming!) In essence, these became "lucid nightmares." After enough of these, I knew with certainty I was dreaming when it happened, and it wasn't so scary.

"rarely do you stop and think "this can't be real." You simply accept that it is. When you wake up, you realize how silly it was, but by then it is too late."

So true. Even if I do think something looks crazy, I won't question it... until I've done a reality check--and even then I'm skeptical. I sometimes have to do multiple checks before I know for sure. It's almost comical how clueless we are. I've dreamt I was battling giant, flying mushrooms, trying to shoot it down, scared for my life it would kill me--not realizing for a second it wasn't real. Hey, I've even done a reality check and said, "I'm dreaming," but I didn't become lucid! I just dreamt that I was lucid in a dream! Crazy.

carwashguy wrote:Hey, I've even done a reality check and said, "I'm dreaming," but I didn't become lucid! I just dreamt that I was lucid in a dream! Crazy.

I've had this happen too. You do (briefly) become lucid, but you forget what that actually implies. This is another example of your subconscious working hard to make accept your surroundings.

xSeanZx wrote:

Skysaw wrote: You can absolutely learn to do this. There's two main ideas you have to learn to get started.

1. You need a way to reliably tell if you are dreaming. This is known as your "reality-check." You must be committed to doing the check even if you are 100% sure you are awake. I have been 100% sure I was awake before only to have my check prove otherwise, which immediately throws me into lucidity. Some checks people use are: looking closely at your hands (they are usually distorted or have extra fingers in dreams when examined), holding your nose and trying to breathe through it (in dreams you often can), trying to push the finger of one hand through the other, or reading something several times to see if it changes.

2. You need to learn your "dream signs." These are things that typically happen in your dream, and varies from person to person. Some very common dream signs are: light switches that don't work, strange weather, trouble dialing phones, trouble reading/writing, seeing family members you don't often encounter. Light switches, rotary phones, and my father are my most frequent signs.

Once you've got these, you need to get into the habit of doing reality checks. Do them whenever you happen to think about it, but especially when one of your dream signs pops up. The idea is that anything that becomes habit in your waking life will become habit in your dreams. If you're actually dreaming, remembering to do the check is usually all it takes to throw you into lucidity.

And by the way, it absolutely rocks.

When exactly do you do this check? Also, do you have any good resources or links on more information on it?

Light switches always work in my dreams! I had to change my reality checks because of that.

carwashguy wrote: Most people aren't familiar enough with dreaming to realize how unrealistic some of the movie devices are.

True, but (I think) Nolan's screenplay wisely employed aspects of dreaming that we believe are true. The time compression 'feels' true to many of us--even if recent research casts doubt on this common concept. (Similarly, Nolan employed other things we know/believe about dreaming, such as the entry of real-life stimuli into our dreams---when we get splashed with water while dreaming we dream of being deluged with water, etc.)

On a tangent: many who voice negative views of Inception do so from the standpoint "the movie fails to be like dreams"....and virtually always, these are people who rarely or never remember their own dreams. They've taken the traditional movie version of dreaming--floating tractors arguing with angry pancakes, and such--and formed the expectation that Inception would be filled with such images. Telling them 'that's NOT what most actual dreams are like' is useless, as they simply assume that the Hollywood version is factual.

For those who have trouble recalling dreams like myself, do you find you're better at remembering when you wake up on your own or when someone or something (alarm, etc) wakes you up? I remember having a great dream, don't even know if it was "fun", but all I remember was being astounded. Unfortunately, I got woken up by someone and even at that moment I couldn't remember what I dreamed about. So frustrating!

In Nolan We Trust wrote:For those who have trouble recalling dreams like myself, do you find you're better at remembering when you wake up on your own or when someone or something (alarm, etc) wakes you up? I remember having a great dream, don't even know if it was "fun", but all I remember was being astounded. Unfortunately, I got woken up by someone and even at that moment I couldn't remember what I dreamed about. So frustrating!

That is frustrating. I think most of us have had that experience.

And yes, if you are lucky enough to be able to wake up on your own---no alarm clock, no one talking to you---then you'll have a much better chance of remembering what you were just dreaming.